


a forever once promised

by virdant



Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reincarnation, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Character Death, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:02:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27274630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/virdant/pseuds/virdant
Summary: so let me love you madly, deeper and deeper, so that my soul will never lose yours.--Jango, Obi-Wan, and seven lives.
Relationships: Jango Fett/Obi-Wan Kenobi
Comments: 13
Kudos: 204





	a forever once promised

**Author's Note:**

> for margan, who was very excited about a jangobi yuanfen/soulmate au, and for aliche, who wanted jangobi last night. and for hawk! happy belated birthday, hawk!
> 
> title is inspired by Shin Band feat. Dai Ailing - the love of a thousand years (信樂團, ft. 戴愛玲: 千年之戀)  
> summary is inspired by Mayday - Born to love (五月天 - 為愛而生)

The first time, they are lying on fertile soil. Obi-Wan’s hands are dark with dirt, his smile flush with promise, and Jango cannot help but reach up and catch him by the fingers. He lays Obi-Wan down, buries him like a seed, presses them together so close as to let their roots entwine.

Jango presses their hands together, palm to palm. He presses their heads together, so close that he can feel Obi-Wan’s breath against his. He says, “Let’s do this again.”

He does not say what this is, and Obi-Wan does not ask. But they lay on fertile soil, under warm sun and lush rains, and they know.

They know.

* * *

The second time they are young, and Jango cups Obi-Wan’s face in his. Obi-Wan’s lashes flutter as his eyes close. Their heads press together, they step so close that they can feel each other’s warmth. 

They do not have so much time, this second time. Each minute slips by so quickly, slipping from their grasp. Each hour seems to sweep by, until there are no more tomorrows, and only yesterdays.

Obi-Wan does not turn away—he walks forward, always and always, no matter how much Jango tries to hold him back.

In the end, this is all he can do: he promises. Again and again, Jango promises, with every breath they share. And he can hear Obi-Wan’s reply: he inhales in promise, he exhales with certainty. 

The second time, ends, so fleeting, so quickly, and when it rains, Jango does not know if he is crying or not.

* * *

The third time they have even less time. Jango is old and bitter when they finally meet, and Obi-Wan is still young and hopeful: steady in all of the ways that he has always been.

They do not have the minutes of before, the hours of promise, the days and years that all of their other lives have given them. Jango lies on his deathbed when he finally meets Obi-Wan, and Obi-Wan is gentle as his hands press against Jango’s.

“Again,” he promises.

* * *

The fourth time—

The battlefield is dark with blood, and they stand on opposite sides. There is the sound of screams, the sobs of the dying, and Jango cannot look away.

Obi-Wan stands before him, and he knows. They know. Jango would know Obi-Wan anywhere, no matter what name he bears in this life, no matter how much his face has changed. Obi-Wan would know Jango anywhere, even as enemies.

Jango hesitates. Obi-Wan does not.

Obi-Wan is gentle as he lowers Jango to the dirt—it is warm with blood, with Jango’s blood. His touch is too gentle for an enemy, and his mouth opens, closes—

* * *

The fifth time they start as children, growing up as close as brothers. It is easy to trail, one behind the other, walking in each other’s shadows. They climb upon each other’s shoulders, one after another, the two of them steadily growing taller and taller until they are no longer children, but adults, with all of the responsibilities they entail.

Obi-Wan does his duty, as he always does. With steadfast resolution, and his feet steadily marching forward. Jango watches.

“Turn around,” Jango says, finally. “Turn around and stay with me.”

“We can only more forward, Jango,” Obi-Wan replies. His voice is steady. He always is so steady. “We can only move forward.”

“You don’t have to—”

Obi-Wan’s grip is warm and firm. “We cannot turn back to what is easy. We must always walk forward to do what is right,” he says. “What do we have, if we don’t have that?”

* * *

The sixth time.

The sixth time.

Jango watches Obi-Wan scream and scream. He cannot hear through his fists clenched tight over his own ears. But he can see the scream, he can feel the scream, and he shouts back, over and over: “You should have turned around! You should have stayed! You should have—”

* * *

The seventh time.

Obi-Wan leaps out of a window of a senator’s bedroom in Coruscant. Obi-Wan stands before him in a cloning facility in Kamino. Obi-Wan meets his gaze even as he is chained for execution.

He is as steadfast as always. He is as steady as always. He is—

Once, Jango loved Obi-Wan as if they were planting seeds in fertile soil. He loved Obi-Wan so much as to let their roots entwine and their branches merge. He loved Obi-Wan—

He is watching as Obi-Wan walks forward. He is helpless, unable to keep himself from following, as a shadow always follows the light. 

He is standing in the darkness of Coruscant. He is standing in the rain of Kamino. He is standing on the warm sand of Geonosis, a blaster in hand, pointing it towards Obi-Wan. 

Find me, Jango says, as he leaves Coruscant, as he leaves Kamino, as he leaves Geonosis. Find me, in every life that we live.

**Author's Note:**

> some answers to potential questions:
> 
>   * why reincarnation? the chinese concept of yuanfen, or a fated connection (not necessarily romantic!), stems from the idea that you were close to somebody in your previous life, so you have a fated connection with them in this life. sometimes i am very chinese, and one way this shows is that i love yuanfen more than western soulmate ideas.
>   * why seven lives? there's a saying in chinese, 七世夫妻, that means husband and wife in seven lives. the saying is derived from a chinese folktale.
> 

> 
> do you also have feelings about jangobi? here's how you can find me:
> 
>   * find me in salt flats
>   * Follow me on twitter [@virdant](http://www.twitter.com/virdant/)
>   * [Like & retweet on twitter](https://twitter.com/virdant/status/1321998883371692034)
>   * Comment and kudo below
> 



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